Is it an indication of Steve Jobs' (in)famous strive for perfection, or just stupid bone-headedness? The white variant of the iPhone 4 was first delayed for a few weeks, but those few weeks became 'end of the year'. Now we know why: the manufacturers Apple employs are apparently having issues matching the shades of white of the various components. This anecdote ties in nicely with a very interesting interview with John Sculley about Steve Jobs' ways of doing business.

This was an embarrassment to be sure, but it really is blown all out of proportion... The problem does not occur with a bumper case (or any other case for that matter), and even without one it doesn't occur unless you hold the device a certain way. And on top of that it only matters under certain conditions (you are in an area with poor reception in the first place).

I think the real embarrassment was how Apple denied that it was even a problem, in the first place. They care more about industrial design than they do about basic utility. Remember the Cube servers that didn't have a fan that essentially turned into molten blocks? Niiice.